1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to data processing and more particularly to an animated graphical notification method and system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A computer-based alarm (notification or reminder) is often used to inform a computer user of an event such as an appointment. Typically, the alarm must be previously programmed by the computer user with event information. Event information may include a date for the event, a specific start time for the event, a specific end time for the event, a list of persons scheduled to meet for the event, or other relevant data. The reminder may also be programmed to notify the computer user of the event at a predetermined time prior to the event. At the predetermined time, a notification may appear on the computer user's screen, notifying the computer user about the event.
Dialog popups and/or icons are popular notification techniques which appear on the computer user's screen in response to a programmed alarm setting. The dialog popup is a textual notification technique used to remind the computer user that the event is impending using text messages. The icon reminder is a graphical notification technique that displays icons on the computer screen at the predetermined time to graphically notify the user of an event. Often, the dialog popup and graphical reminder are used in conjunction.
Typically, the user has to configure the reminder time, the duration of time the reminder is to be displayed, and any attributes such as sound to be used in conjunction with the reminder. For example, a reminder for a calendar event such as a dentist appointment may be set for particular date, time, duration, dialog, and alarm sound. Often, computer-based notifications are used for events other than time events. For example, a user may set a reminder to activate when an airline flight ticket price is within a certain price range. When the airline ticket price is within the predetermined price range, the user may be sent an alert notifying them that the ticket price is within the predetermined range.
Generally, once the reminder appears on the computer user's screen, the computer user must deal with the reminder in some way. Typically, the computer user may be required to click or double-click on the icon and/or dialog popup to display the event information or modify the reminder. The computer user may often choose to ignore, dismiss, snooze, or postpone the reminder. Unfortunately, reminders may activate when a user is not present or distracted, thereby causing the user to miss the event. For example, if a computer user momentarily steps away from the computer or is distracted when the reminder activates, and does not use the computer for a sufficient period of time, a screensaver may hide the reminder and therefore cause the user to miss the reminder entirely, even if the user is nearby. Reminders may also be forgotten or missed by the user simply ignoring the reminder, or by hitting the “snooze” feature of the reminder system multiple times, for example. Thus, users may not want to dismiss a conventional warning for fear of forgetting, yet leaving the warning in place may make it difficult or impossible to continue using the computer, particularly in the case of non-modal window notifications (i.e., windows which must be acknowledged (e.g., by pressing an OK button) prior to resuming any other activity).
Therefore, there is a need for a computer-based reminder system that is reliable and effective in reminding a user of predetermined events.